Fallen Grace
by Kittenlett
Summary: The fate of everyone is resting upon one teenage girl's shoulders. Good and Evil hang by a thin thread and only she can balance it before it's too late. Too bad she doesn't know how!


_**Kittenlett: **I toyed with the idea of this story for a while and eventually I realised, I'll do it! I've carefully picked out my pairings and the plot and-well that's it but I assure you, I think you'll enjoy how different, same in some bits, the story is to the usual anime series! And, of course, it's alternative universe so if you like the way the original anime/manga is going I warn you to be gone from my sacred story –holds up phoney pair of twigs that make a cross- or you'll suffer the piercing wail of me! _

_If you're wondering about my other story, look at my profile and it'll all be explained! Please don't kill me --;;;_

_Read and review! _

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters in this story. I do however own the plot of it and if you steal it I'll hunt you down and force feed you cookies until you look like a Elephant! _

_**Fallen Grace**_

**Chapter 1**

It was a normal Friday night at the Higurashi shrine. Mrs. Higurashi and Jii-chan had gone to visit distant relatives for the holidays, Kagome's friends had been forced to trek after their drunk parents while they partied until the early hours of the morning and Kagome and Souta were alone in a big, dark and creepy shrine for the second time in their lives. Just perfect!

Souta was currently found in his room with his video games and the odd horror movie Mama had banned from him because of his nightmares. He didn't seem to be bothered about the fact that it was nearly 11 o'clock and they were all alone without any protection. Not even Jii-chan with his stupid stories, Kagome missed the slight feeling of warmth and safety that the rest of the family brought into the household.

Kagome was currently doing what all teenagers her age did when they were bored, panicky or forced to do. She was doing the pile of homework school wanted her to do. Schools, she had decided long ago, were planning to bring misery to every child they taught in the entire world!

At the moment in time, Kagome was scribbling her answers furiously on her Math paper. Begging them to be right and not to get another failure like the past homework she'd wracked her brain until midnight to find the answers. It wasn't her fault, her friends had said in comfort; it was the teachers for not explaining it properly.

Her friends never were brilliant at lying to her.

Buyo, her obese cat, waddled over to her bed, giving it a look of pure longing. Turning his gaze at the stressed 15-year-old, he let out a pitiful mew that could have melted the North Pole.

It fell on deaf ears.

The cat frowned before mewing again. Louder this time.

"I heard you the first time, Buyo!" he heard Kagome sigh heavily before he was lifted up onto the soft, springy bed. Nuzzling Kagome's hand affectionately, he sprawled on the fabric until he was in a comfortable position and quickly fell asleep.

Until the bed side phone rang.

Scrambling out of her chair, Kagome darted for the phone. Maybe it was Eri saying she could come and stay over? Or Mama and Jii-chan were coming home early? Kagome's heart leapt at that one. Anyone as long as she didn't have to stay in the house with her little brother for any longer.

Unfortunately, Kagome wasn't that lucky.

"Hello? Eri, Mama, Jii-chan, is that you?" she asked in a breathless voice. A cold, mirthless chuckle floated down the phone and she shivered in fear.

"No, little miko. I am neither a family member nor your friend. If you want to know who I am, why don't you come outside and find out? I promise I won't hurt you. Much!" The voice was harsh and hallow yet as slick as oil. It gave off the image of a cruel serial killer, definitely a man. Warning bells set off inside Kagome's head as fear pooled in the bottom of her stomach.

"Wh-who are you and what do you want? I'll call the police I swear!" she tried to sound brave but her voice cracked and wavered at the end. She sounded as scared as she felt. His chuckle really didn't calm her nerves and she found her hand searching around for her baseball bat under her bed.

"You wouldn't dare call the police against a youkai (demon) would you, Kagome?" he asked before laughing in malicious manner. Her hand found the bat and gripped it tightly. This guy was begging for trouble and she would give it to him if she had to. Not for her sake, for her little brother's.

It never occurred to Kagome until later on that he said he was a youkai. Youkai didn't exist. Well, they weren't supposed to. They were just a story to tell little, naughty children!

…Right?

"Oh, would you look at the time! Well, goodbye!" she slammed down the phone before the mystery guy could protest and ran out of her room with Buyo in one arm and the bat in the other.

Sprinting down the hallway, Kagome barrelled her way past odd pieces of junk and furniture. Why did Jii-chan insist of buying a "magic" cupboard and put it in the hallway? She would have shrugged if she weren't terrified for her and her brother's life.

"Souta!" she cried as she threw herself at the door, which, she found out painfully, was slightly open. The little boy nearly had a heart attack as he saw his sister fly through the door and collide with the wall at the opposite side of the room. When he saw the bat he prepared himself to run for miles but then he saw the dizzy fat cat and immediately sighed in relief. Then he turned back to his video games.

"What are you doing in my room? You said I could stay up as long as I could except past midnight! It's only," he glanced at the clock, "11 o'clock! See, I have another hour before I have to go to bed so leave me and my room alone!" he turned around and stuck his tongue out at Kagome.

Staggering to her feet, Kagome pinned Souta with a glare that could have made hell freeze over, repeatedly.

"We. Go. **NOW!**" she snapped at him before dropping Buyo onto the floor. Whoever said cats always landed on their feet never met Buyo. Instead, he just flopped on the ground in a disturbing way before hauling himself off the floor, onto his paws and trotted out of the room leaving a terrified sister and bored brother in the room.

The distinct sound of glass being smashed startled the siblings out of their train of thought. Souta inched behind his sister and Kagome gripped her baseball bat so hard her knuckles had turned white.

"Onee-chan (older sister), what was that?" Souta was trembling now. Kagome could feel him quake behind her as he grabbed the back of her pyjama top. _Don't panic, _she told herself, _Don't panic in front of Souta!_

"Where's your phone?" Kagome said in a calm, steady voice that surprised her since she was a bundle of nerves inside.

"I-in my pocket. Onee-chan what has my phone got to do with anything?" the poor kid seemed genuinely confused now but she didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Phone Mama. This thing isn't human, the police won't be able to do anything. Mama will know what to do!" her voice was confident, strong and determined. She felt the absolute opposite. Nervous, weak and undetermined. Prying small fingers off of her top, she quietly closed the door, put down the bat and began to move objects in front of it. It'd give them a few minutes extra to escape but they were quite a way up and if they'd try to climb down…

_Don't finish that sentence._

"Kagome, what's Mama's number!" Souta was frantic now. The last thing Kagome needed was a hyperventilating brother. Snatching the phone from trembling hands,she punched in her mother's number before waiting for her to pick up.

And waited…

Another crash echoed through the house before she heard muffled voices. More than one! Kagome wanted to cry, to curl up in a little ball and cry herself to sleep. Then she glanced at her brother. He looked pale and ill. He seemed so small, so vulnerable. A surge of determination shot through her.

"It's alright, Souta. We'll get out of here, I promise!" she gave him a small smile. She got a weak smile in return.

"Kagome? Why are you calling me? What's wrong?" her mother's voice drifted through the phone and her heart gave a back flip in relief. She couldn't stop the broad grin spreading on her face, she did stop herself from dancing round the room when she heard the door downstairs crash open. "Kagome, what on earth was that! I said you weren't allowed to have a party!"

"Mama! Youkai, he said he was a youkai and that I was a miko and there are more! What are we going to do! We're locked in Souta's room and all I've got is a bat! Kami, what are we going to do! What are we going to do! Tell me what to do, Mama! We don't want to die!" Kagome's voice had steadily grown louder until she was shouting. Souta cringed at the volume.

"Onee-chan," he said tentatively, scared that she'd do something stupid, "We're going to be okay, aren't we?" A wave of guilt washed over the teenage girl as she turned to face her brother. She should be strong and-

"The miko is upstairs!" a voice called out from the kitchen. They heard the footfalls and then the padding of feet as they came running up the stairs.

"Kagome, open the closet and press the big red button at the back!" Mama ordered. "Just do it, Kagome or you'll die!" she snapped when her eldest child began to protest. Then she hung up.

A closet? They were about to die or worse and all her mother could say was go into the closet and press some red button! If she ever saw her mother again, Kagome would…

"The bitch is in one of these fucking rooms!" an angered yell snapped her out of her seething.

"C'mon, we have to get out of here!" blue eyes scanned the room. Socks, underwear, mouldy left over cheese. _So that's where it is! _She thought. _Little thief stole it. Ah, ha!_ Blue eyes found the closet door and she dragged Souta over to it and threw the door open…

To find long, narrow stairs descending into complete darkness.

"How did that get there!" she heard Souta cry but she wasn't paying attention. Where was the damn button thing!

**BANG!**

The sound of muffled swearing and more voices made Kagome feel faint. She looked upwards and saw a big, bright red sphere suspending in mid air. Inside her mind angels were singing Alleluia and she felt all warm and tingly inside.

"This'll only hold us for a few seconds, Kagome. I'll make sure of it!" the man from the phone snarled through the door. That squashed the happy, warm, tingly feeling inside like somebody smashing a hammer on a watermelon. "Open the damn door bitch!" A chair flew across the room and splinterd as it collided with the wall.

Taking a deep breath, grabbing Souta's arm, closing the closet door and punching the button, Kagome fell down the stairs and was consumed in the darkness.

* * *

I really like cliff hangers, don't you? XP I'm evil I know! Hope you enjoyed this, but for now, I'm going to die from lack sleep.

Happy New Year and remember that all I want from you are a few cough hundred cough reviews and you'll get the next chapter within hours, days or a week. depends how long it takes :D


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